Hard to believe it’s been only 15 months since the WPCA referendum and 2015 election. In a total smack down of the aristocracy (Harkins and friends) the people said “NO” to his honor and to the candidates who put their interest ahead of the people’s. Unfortunately, the “old guard” aristocratic powers predictably have reared their ugly heads in response.
Who are the “old guard” you ask? Anyone who staunchly defends the status quo they have worked hard to preserve for decades. They fight revolutionary movements or candidates whenever they rise up. They exist in both your political parties and have a secret handshake understanding that ensures their positions of power and ability to live off the taxpayer’s largess is protected regardless the party in power.
It is important to closely watch behavior and not party titles to determine who is a card-carrying member. Here are some obvious members of the “old guard”. From the DTC we have Council Chair Beth Daponte, BOE Vice Chair Lenny Petruccelli, Former DTC Chairman Richard Buturla and DTC registrar Rick Marcome. On the RTC side we have Mayor John Harkins, State Rep Laura Hoydick, RTC Chair & registrar Lou DeCilio , 7th District Councilman Vincent Chase and sometime town attorney Ben Proto just to name a few from a very long list.
Emerging from the WPCA fight we see a “new guard” of players not beholden to the “old guard” who are committed to serving the people they represent. They want to do what is right for all the people in town. The problem is that these new players represent a huge threat to the “old guard” and with the November 2017 election deciding who will be Mayor and run the Council, the stakes are extremely high. I’ll let you decide who are members of the “new guard”.
There a number of issues coming up now that should dominate this election, but make no mistake the fight will be between the “old guard” and the “new guard”. The winner will be in control for the next 4 years. The major issues are:
- Fiscal management of Municipal, BOE and WPCA budgets
- Economic development vision and plans
- Transit oriented development vision and plans
- Shakespeare development
In subsequent updates we will look deeper at these issues. Hopefully our readers will weigh in on where they see these issues going. The fight is just and revenge Is sweet. Just don’t mess with the Madame or you will get the horns!
-The Madame
